1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to storing, retrieving and organizing items in a database, such as an electronic catalog, using part number formulas. More particularly, the invention relates to relating sections of part number formulas to particular aspects of different configurations of an item and storing, retrieving and organizing the different configurations as variations on a single item.
2. Description of the Related Art
Searchable electronic catalogs are commonly used in support of various electronic commerce and purchasing functions. These catalogs typically have a user interface for selectively retrieving and displaying records as well as a system for electronically purchasing any items that are selected. Some items that may be cataloged are available in a variety of different configurations and each configuration will often have a unique part number. For example, a particular type of pen may be available with different colors and points. A garment may be available in different sizes, fabrics and colors. A power supply may be available with different input and output voltages, current capabilities, and housings. If all the configurations of an item are each listed as separate items, then the catalog can become cumbersome. Finding and selecting items and managing the catalog can be more difficult. On the other hand, if the different configurations are ignored, then details about the item and complete part numbers may be unavailable for each configuration.
Pens and shirts represent simple examples of products with a variety of available configurations. In some product domains, there may be thousands or even millions of different possible configurations. A lighting fixture, for example, may be offered with choices of lamps, starting circuits, lamp wattages, ballasts, input voltages, housings, lenses, mounting brackets, finishes, fuses and certifications. When represented as thousands of different items, one for each configuration, such complicated configurable items become almost impossible to search, load, extract and add to an electronic catalog shopping cart because of the very large number of combinations that must be handled. Sifting through the thousands of possibilities can be very time consuming and confusing for a purchaser.
In relational databases, such items have been handled by coding long sequences of conditional branch instructions, typically in the form of “if, then” statements. The hard-coded configurations, while usable, can only be changed by an expert in the conditional logic system using a map of the “if, then” sequence for the particular product. In addition, the hard-coded configurations are difficult to translate across platforms to populate catalogs that operate using different software or architectures. Updates and translations are particularly important because the options in such configurable products often are changed. For the example of a particular pen, an additional color choice may be added at any time. For the lighting fixture, mentioned above, it would be common for an option in lamp wattage to be added or taken away as the available lamps change. As a result, neither a long list of thousands of separate items nor complex hard-coded configuration logic is satisfactory for a category that is easy to use, reconfigure, update, and transport across platforms.